Iran says 464 citizens died in crush at hajj, nearly double the previously reported toll.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The number of Iranian pilgrims who died last week ina human crush near Mecca in Saudi Arabia has nearly doubled to 464, Iranreported on Thursday, increasing tensions between the two countries and adding to doubts that the Saudi government had provided a full accounting of the disaster.

The deaths occurred on Sept. 24, when large crowds of pilgrims converged on streets with few exits in a tent city in Mina, near one of the crucial stops on the annual pilgrimage known as the hajj. Iran has been joined by India, Indonesia and Pakistan in suggesting that the Saudis have not fully acknowledged the human toll.

Saudi officials blamed some pilgrims for failing to follow directions, leading to overcrowding that was exacerbated by sweltering heat and the dehydration of many pilgrims.

But other governments and people in the area at the time have accused the authorities of failing to control the crowds and of temporarily closing exists, leaving the pilgrims confined.